SHENYANG -- China's Dandong Port is boosting its throughput capacity with hefty investments to cement its role as a transport hub in Northeast Asia that connects the Korean Peninsula with Eurasia.

The port in Liaoning province plans to invest 45 billion yuan ($7.07 billion) between 2011 and 2015 to boost its annual handling capacity above 100 million tons, the largest along the Yellow Sea coast in the country, the provincial transport department said in a statement Tuesday.

The port has finished more than half of the 10.2-billion-yuan investment earmarked for this year, the provincial transport authorities said.

Currently, Dandong Port, with 26 berths in use, boasts an annual throughput of 60 million tons. It has opened routes with 70 ports in more than 50 countries and regions.

A northernmost international sea port in China, Dandong Port serves as a new gateway for maritime transportation of the country's northeastern region. It provides a convenient passage integrating both sea and rail routes in Northeast Asia that covers China, Russia, Mongolia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and Japan.